The invention is based on a priority application DE 100 49 621.0-53 which is hereby incorporated by reference. The invention concerns a method for operating a data processing system with several data processing units, a redundancy data processing unit for a data processing system with several data processing units, a data processing unit for a data processing system and a data processing system with two or more active processing units and with at least one redundancy data processing unit.
In data processing systems, there is quite often a requirement to ensure high availability of the overall system.
The invention is based on a solution approach known in the field of network management systems:
A redundancy data processing unit is installed in addition to each active data processing unit whose failure has more extensive consequences for the functioning of the overall system. The redundancy data processing unit receives the same data as the active data processing unit. In respect of communication, the active data processing unit and the redundancy data processing unit form a unit. The redundancy data processing unit operates in “hot stand-by mode”, i.e., it performs in parallel the same functions as the active data processing unit, and thus receives the same input data and produces the same output data. If a fault or the failure of the active data processing unit is detected, the data processing unit uses the output data of the redundancy data processing unit instead of the output data of the active data processing unit.
A disadvantage of this approach is that a failure of the communications link to the active data processing unit also means a failure of the communications link to the redundancy data processing unit.